Fact sheet on child abandonment research in South Africa

NACSA consultant Dee Blackie, who conducted the research largely based on in-depth interviews and participant observations among young mothers and community members in Tembisa, Soweto and Alexandra. They found that the new Child Protection Act and “cultural barriers” were the major drivers of plummeting adoption rates in South Africa.Adoptions dropped from 2 840 in 2004 to 1 699 last year. According to the research, there were only 297 unmatched parents for 428 unmatched children available for adoption.